Manhattan terrorist should get death penalty, says Trump

On Tuesday, Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old from Uzbekistan, allegedly rammed a truck into a crowded bike path near the World Trade Center Memorial, killing eight and injuring a dozen.

His tweet raised troubling questions about the separation of powers and the independence of prosecutors and the federal judiciary.

Trump had never committed to sending Saipov to Guantanamo.

President Donald Trump unloaded during a press appearance on Wednesday on the 29-year-old man accused of ramming into a bike lane and killing eight people in New York City, suggesting he would consider sending the suspect to the military prison at the United States naval base on Guantanamo Bay.

"Send him to Gitmo - I would certainly consider that", Trump, using a nickname for Guantanamo, said when asked about that possibility by one reporter.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving member of a pair of ethnic Chechen brothers who killed three people and injured more than 260 when they bombed the 2013 Boston Marathon in an attack inspired by the al Qaeda militant group, was sentenced to death in 2015.

"Mr. President, we all know he should get the death penalty. But when you say it, it makes it harder for DOJ to make that happen", tweeted Andrew C. McCarthy, a former assistant USA attorney for the Southern District of NY.

"There is also something appropriate about keeping him in the home of the terrible crime he committed", Trump added moments later.

But just a few hours later, the government filed federal terrorism charges against the Uzbek immigrant, signaling an intent to prosecute him within the U.S. The one-two developments marked a sharp disconnect between the president and his administration. Trump tweeted on Wednesday night.

After the attack, Trump wrote several tweets calling for tougher vetting processes of immigrants, in particular calling for an end to the State Department program known as the Diversity Visa Lottery.

"We have to come up with punishment that's far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now", Trump said in a press conference.

The president has also said he would love to send the suspect to Guantanamo Bay.